Fun Book Giveaway by Adam Glendon Sidwell

Look at the fun Adam Glendon Sidwell has been cooking up this fine May!

The Buttersmiths' Gold

BATTLES. BLUEBERRIES. BOVINES.

TORBJORN AND STORFJELL’S HISTORY UNFOLDS IN AN EPIC EVERTASTER NOVELLA.

Everyone knows the most coveted treasure of the Viking Age was blueberry muffins. Blueberry muffins so succulent that if you sniffed just a whiff, you'd want a whole bite. If you bit a bite, you'd want a batch; if you snatched a batch, you'd stop at nothing short of going to war just to claim them all.

Young Torbjorn Trofastsonn comes from the clan that makes them. He's a Viking through and through– he's thirteen winters old, larger than most respectable rocks, and most of all, a Buttersmith. That's what he thinks anyway, until a charismatic merchant makes Torbjorn question his place among the muffin-makers. When Torbjorn lets the secret of his clan's muffin recipe slip, he calls doom and destruction down upon his peaceful village and forces his brother Storfjell and his clansmen to do the one thing they are ill-prepared to do: battle for their lives.

About The Buttersmiths' Gold

The Buttersmiths' Gold is a spin off novella in the Evertaster series that tells the story of two Viking brothers and their adventurous past. The Evertaster series (Book #1 released June 14, 2012) is about Guster Johnsonville, who goes searching for a legendary taste rumored to be the most delicious in all of history. Along the way he meets a slew of mysterious characters, including two Viking brothers Torbjorn and Storfjell. The Buttersmiths' Gold is their story. 124 pages. By Adam Glendon Sidwell. Published by Future House Publishing.

Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Here's your chance to win a signed copy Buttersmiths' Gold and a $50 Amazon gift card!

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New Beginnings

So I took longer a hiatus than I intended and life has become so full, I don't know where to begin! From having a new baby, to my hubby being laid off and finding a job a month later, then having to commute over an hour away, to raising all five kids ranging from 16 years to 0 without my man around is giving me handfuls of white hair! Not to mention we're planning on moving closer to his job come the end of the school year and selling our house ...

On the meanwhile, I am focusing on breathing day by day and enjoying my kids--especially the newest one!
My little boy is healthy and strong and growing oh so fast! Here are his cute little feet that I'm using as my profile pic over on Facebook:

As far as my writing is concerned, my muse has been patient with me and decided to hibernate all these many months past. But I can feel him stirring and his ravenous appetite has me almost at a loss because ... how am I going to squeeze his demands in with all the rest?

I guess writing is a survival need for my sanity, I will force the time to write. I hope.

What have you been up to these past 12 months? Share with me your successes, I'd LOVE to hear them!

My 6 month Hiatus

I have a surprise for you! I am going on a 6 month hiatus until my baby is born, possibly longer. I know you will miss me. Very, very much. Because I love you and don't want you to feel bereft of my presence, I am leaving something of myself behind.

I am uploading my very first novel: mistakes and all. You get to see how far I've come in my writing. You know, before I knew that adverbs and info dumping and flowery descriptions are every agent's and publishers nightmares? I was only 17.

As you venture into my High Fantasy Action Romance, TRAGIC INNOCENCE, you will find another Easter Egg to unearth.

PS--I've changed my website to ElizabethMueller.com.

Have fun! *kisses*

Perceptive Readers

This post is based off of last week's thoughts, but on the other side of the pages. Have you ever, as a reader, stopped, put your book down, and think, "This sounds like something that actually happened to the author." Or, "There's no way the author could have known that unless s/he experienced that" because you went through it first hand and felt the familiar emotion play out within you?

As a reader, a lot of the times, things jump out at me. For example, Cindy Hogan's Watched. A young girl witnesses a murder through an unusual way in a bathroom stall. As soon as I reached that part, a thought hit me, and I had the feeling the author experienced that same unusual way the heroine in the bathroom had (I am not referring to murder, either!). Because the author and I are friends, I was free to ask if this was the case. She confirmed.

I've had several incidences where, as I read books, a hard realization occurred: "This must have happened to the author in real life." And it turns out that it had happened in real life to the authors; some of the instances have made me sad, knowing this good friend endured such tragedy.

There are undeniable philosophical truths that many writers use in their works and it may strike the reader in the heart. Some dark truths can be woven into books that the writer would never dare discuss with anyone, but it is there in the book.

As a writer, for example, the theme in my novel, Rock Star, is similar to my own life. I have endured many tragedies, indulged in my emotions during my low points--even sabotaged good things that came into my life because I felt I didn't deserve them, yet, I have felt the goodness of it that helped change my life around. I am not quite sure what truths readers may pick up and think, "Aha! It seems the author may have experienced this exact thing." (Though I've never once been a famous rock star in my life!) I do wonder what truths my readers pick up on as they read my work?

Have you ever had that feeling, as a reader, that you knew the writer experienced the exact same thing you had just read?

Living the Pages

We are what we write. I believe that our fears, desires, our subconscious rises from the figurative grave to haunt our dreams every night. We are the sum of our beliefs that reveal themselves every night. Just as that is so, it manifests in our writing.

My brother pointed out the other day that my themes and stories are dark. Dark? I wondered. Well, I confess that I am drawn to Gothic stuff though I don't wear black lipstick. My stories are dark, yes, they are. They are not dark like Anne Rice's vampire writings, though.

My experiences, beliefs, and views are expressed through every book I write. Yes, they have dark themes in there. War. Death. Demons. Abuse . . . With it come love, forgiveness, self-discovery, strength--everything an antitheses of its opposite because that is what I've endured as a child and young adult as well as now.

Have you read my bio? I write what means most to me. I am an advocate for those who feel lost and lonely and hated. Why? Because I've endured those uglies off and on throughout and my desire to help others not feel that way is strong.

Remember Anne Rice and her Vampire Chronicles? That was her way of questioning God's existence. She struggled for 38 years and lived her doubt through her characters. Have you wondered why she has decided to move on from her dark themes? It's because she has found light and her spirit is now filled. Curious, isn't it, how a writer's work can change with their belief system. No, not really curious. Writers are people too and our actions are revealed through our works just like any other person.

Have you found that your actions (writing, hobbies, life) manifest your belief system? Think about it for awhile. I'd love to hear what you have discovered about yourself.

My Author Platform?

I'm not sure if I've already blogged about this, but it's been bouncing around in my brain for the longest time and I can't remember anymore if I have or not.

As a published author, we are all pushed to come up with a platform. That word, to me, is abstract that I still have a hard time defining it, but this post isn't going to preach what a platform should or shouldn't be. I want to write about how I lost myself as a published author.

Okay, so at writers conferences, it gets beaten into our heads (poor things are already overrun by countless other subjects) that we need to find a way to appeal to our audience. What this is saying is that I need to define who I am as a public figure.

For the longest time I've done that. I've tried to fit myself to what I should be like whenever I step into "author mode" whether it be online or in person.

It's to the point that I've lost myself. I feel like a teenager all over again trying to discover just who it is I am and I have not been happy. Why not just be me? Why not blog about things that I enjoy rather than trying to come up with something savvy that would appeal to readers or writers? Just be me.

That's one of the BIGGEST reasons why my blogging has slowed to a near stop, because I feel like I am not being honest with you, with myself, for recreating something that wasn't me to begin with. I will just be me.

Welcome to Elizabeth Mueller, mother of 4 with one on the way. Wife of 17 years of marriage who thought she wouldn't make it past the first year due to hardships. Abused child who overcame the uglies and reinvented who she was to survive in a fast-paced world. Mormon girl who hasn't always been a Mormon. Published author who often questions herself if this is still the right career for her because the support system seems to have disintegrated from under her feet and I'm not referring to the RoCkIn' hubby who hopes I'd strike gold in this rush.

Welcome to me.

Become a Character in my Next Book!

The best part of writing are my readers. Seriously. I know I've been on the other side of the fence where I've read businesses claiming their appreciation for their customers, where authors say they love their readers. You know what? It is true. So. True.

Where is a book without a reader? Nowhere.

I am happy to share with you the FuNtAsTiC opportunity to become a character in my upcoming book, Darkspell's sequel, Darkwraith.

Thanks to the Karen Hoover-inspired guru, meet Become the Character--where YOU will be written into the story.

Welcome Darkwraith...

Intrigued? Please click here for further information!

Everything is harder when I'm...

Pregnant! Yep, I'm a few months pregnant and Baby is due February 15. Yay!

This can be frustrating, yet refreshing. I have to admit that I am totally BURNT out from marketing along with other heartbreaking hurtles. My priorities have shifted and the balance has tipped to family now. I do revisit my writing when I feel in the mood--which has been slim at best.

Isn't that sad? I've had so many ideas to throw into Darkspell's sequel, but I don't find myself readily whipping my laptop out to incorporate those brilliant ideas. I have, though, jotted them down so that I wouldn't forget. Whew...  Funny thing is that when I do write in my book, I feel refreshed and wonder why I took so long to get to it. Every time, never fails.

What challenges do you face from the things you really enjoy?

Photographer sues Blogger--YIKES!

Please read this >article< if you post photos on your blog! I tend to use Googled photos though I always link to the site, but I'm not taking any more chances and am combing through my posts (YIKES! so many...) to remove every one of them.

I still need to find out where to find photos that are safe to use without repercussions. If you have such an one, please post the link in the comments!

Good luck if you do use photos that are copyright-possible and let the ErAsInG begin! 

baby steps

It's amazing what turns life takes us, and we are left with a choice. There are so many things I've been faced with the past several months that I feel lost in the woods. For starters, traditional versus non in the publishing world. I've seen first hand many things authors enduring things that make me balk and weep for them when it comes to traditional. True, that option does give you a marketing buffer compared to the non, but is it really worth all your hard work when you get only cents per book (practically, c'mon exaggeration was invented for a purpose)?

I'm not quite sure if self quite fits my needs; I still have a lot of "growing up to do" where it concerns which to choose. I almost feel like Alice in Wonderland, faced with a road in which I need to choose. However, unlike Alice I know which NOT to choose. So perhaps that narrows it down a bit.

It still does not make it any easier.

For now, I'm sticking with hauling tail in just writing. Marketing Darkspell has grown more difficult since I have no other books out, but I'm like a dormant volcano waiting for its time.

How's your journey? Has it become more confusing the further you travel, or clearer?